Women in politics: using a chronology.

One hundred and fifty years ago, women were not allowed to vote--let alone run for office--in the U.S. A lot has changed since then. The chronology below shows some major milestones of women's progress in U.S. politics. Use the chronology to answer the questions, writing your answers on the lines provided.

1848: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other reformers meet at Seneca Falls, New York, to discuss the "social, civil, and religious rights of women." They issue a Declaration of Sentiments stating that "all men and women are created equal."

1869: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). Its goal is a constitutional amendment granting women suffrage [the right to vote].

1890: Wyoming, where women have been able to vote since 1869, enters the Union, making it the first state with woman suffrage.

1916: Jeannette Rankin of Montana is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives--the first woman elected to either chamber of Congress.

1920: The 19th Amendment grants women the right to vote.

1924: Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected the first female Governor.

1948: After serving eight years in the House, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine wins election as U.S. Senator, becoming the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress.

1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, New York, is the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

1984: Geraldine A. Ferraro, running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale, becomes the first woman nominated by a major political party for the office of U.S. Vice President.

2007: The greatest number of women in history is sworn into Congress: 16 to the Senate and 71 to the House. Nancy Pelosi becomes the first House Speaker. A record-setting 1,734 women serve in state legislatures throughout the country.

QUESTIONS

1. In which city was the women's rights convention of 1848 held?--

2. Which was the first state in the Union with woman suffrage?--

3. Who was the first woman elected to Congress?--

4. Which constitutional amendment gives women the right to vote?--

5. How many years passed between the formation of the NWSA and passage of that amendment?--

6. How many years passed between the abolition of slavery in 1865 and the election of the first African-American woman to Congress?--

7. Who was the first female Governor, and of which state?--

8. On what document was the Declaration of Sentiments from Seneca Falls modeled? (answer not in chronology)--

9. In which year did a major political party nominate a woman as its candidate for Vice President?--

10. How long after women gained the right to vote was a woman chosen as Speaker of the House?--

Bonus question: Why do you suppose it took so long for women to achieve each political goal? Give examples to support your answer.--

ANSWER

1. Seneca Falls, New York (1848)

2. Wyoming (1924)

3. Jeannette Rankin (1916)

4. the 19th Amendment (1920)

5. 51 years (1869 to 1920)

6. 103 years (1865 to 1968)

7. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Wyoming (1924)

8. the Declaration of Independence

9. 1984 (Geraldine A. Ferraro)

10. 87 years (1920 to 2007)

Bonus question: Answers will vary.